I was just reading that D- will has signed a 5 million, one year deal with a Euro league team. Amare is considering Israel and Kobe is considering China. The owner's proposal cuts salaries by a third, leaving many NBA Allstars thinking there will be a talent shift beyond the lockout between world leagues and the NBA. Now that salaries well become more balanced between the two.

With such big names considering the move, does this not fundamentally threaten the structure of these leagues. The euros specifically run so many more guys out playing fewer minutes. Inserting some of these super stars and their expectations to minutes, touches, ect. could create huge problems with league veterans, coaches, ect. (If D-will can push Jerry Sloan over the edge, think about what he is going to do to a Euro league coach).

I think world wide this is going to be a great thing for the fans and the game of basketball, but for the teams and leagues (on all shores) this could be a huge gamble. Or is this just hard ball on behalf of the players? Thoughts?

I think this is just for the duration of the lockout. Regardless of the CBA for the NBA, I think player would want to have their careers because the NBA is the best league in terms of talent and player would want to face off vs. the best.

Let's be honest, if a max salary is 18 now and cut down by 1/3 to 12... it's still 12M per year! it's not like the players can't live off that and it's still very competitive with the salaries that other leagues pay their players.

Well, if owners win, NBA gonna lose some talent, but I think it's very little. Some role players may like European ball and will stay, but it also depends on where they gonna land. There are so many different Euro/Asia teams, some take care of its players and give them even better conditions than NBA teams, others, not so much...

I think this is just for the duration of the lockout. Regardless of the CBA for the NBA, I think player would want to have their careers because the NBA is the best league in terms of talent and player would want to face off vs. the best.

Let's be honest, if a max salary is 18 now and cut down by 1/3 to 12... it's still 12M per year! it's not like the players can't live off that and it's still very competitive with the salaries that other leagues pay their players.

I third is a huge deal. If you look at it from the top end its seems absence that some like Lebron or Kobe would be making just under 12 million. And when you look at up and coming talent like Bayless who would take a slip to 2 million a year (when you own three houses and 6 cars that salary gets sucked up pretty quick). It also starts to become very competitive trying to team build. Just think they are willing to sign a 3.5 million euro deal to D-will for the duration of the lock out, the highest salary in the Euroleague is 4.2 or 4.8. In my interpretation this is being viewed as a once in a life time opportunity to throw money at some big name talent.

The NHL change in salaries did not cause stars to pack up and move across the ocean. It was mostly fringe players and guys at the end of their careers.

1. If you are a great player, you have pride and want to play with the best. If you are a great player, you don't wan the perception that you can't hang with the big boys. Even the best non-North American players want to play over here.

2. It's a different life sytle and standard of living in a lot of places. If you think guys have a problem playing in Toronto, which is like a cleaner, safer and nicer city than practically any NBA city......

It's a matter of degrees. I remember how every really good team had an aging star that was still essential to their success. That's already being lost to some extent with so many younger players needing minutes right away. Now you might be looking at stars thinking of making a move while they are still very productive. It's a possible further watering down of the talent pool, and it would be a shame.

The lockout will definitely deter future fan support for the NBA. Basketball fans will begin to follow euro league basketball games and some may even fall in love with the Euro-league style of play. Wordt case scenario would be nba superstars permanently migrating to Europe, which was a scenario that Deron williams discussed

With the exception of Euros, I'm having a hard time seeing anyone elite opting to leave the NBA if the moey is even similar. It is the league that you aspire to coming up if you can dream that big. I can see an Alabi going over, but not Kevin Love....I can see a Marcus Banks going over, but not Derek Rose.

Much like the movie industry, other continents may have their own movie industries, but Hollywood transcends them. I think to an extent, it's the same in the NBA. I even heard some interview that said not only are there over 300 million registered basketball players in a place like China, but if you ask them what game they are playing when they are playing basketball, they say they are "playing NBA". Classic!

Do players decide not go play in Toronto because it's too foreign? Or is it because they don't want to be on a shit team?

For some players, playing overseas would be like a well-paid vacation while offering an opportunity to expand their brand greatly and pick up all kinds of money from sponsorship deals. Nobody is going to get that in Toronto. It's apples and oranges entirely.

Not that there is going to be a mass exodus, but if there are other viable opportunities for enough players, that means an overall further diminuation of the talent pool here.

And please - can we stop with the comparisons to the NHL? Hockey was broken before their lookout. A snoozefest. Basketball just had it's best season in over a decade, and there only looks to be a concern over milking more money out of a product, rather than making it even better.

First of all I think the comparison to NHL is out of the line, basket is huge in the entire European continent, while hockey is considered a minor sport for many of the european countries.
Even if salaries would drop in NBA to Euro level what would keep players there instead of going to euroleague is money from sponsorships. Football (or soccer for you) is the main sport for many countries here and there are few basketball players considered superstars in Europe. For example Rome is 4mil inhabitants and it's really hard to pack a palace of 10k seats for bb games while for football matches is an average of 50k spectators.
A main change in this scenario would be if the lockout lasts 2-3 years, american superstars like Kobe or LeBron go playing in Europe and then sport culture changes and basket starts gaining a lot more fans, but it's just not so.

Do players decide not go play in Toronto because it's too foreign? Or is it because they don't want to be on a shit team?

For some players, playing overseas would be like a well-paid vacation while offering an opportunity to expand their brand greatly and pick up all kinds of money from sponsorship deals. Nobody is going to get that in Toronto. It's apples and oranges entirely.

Not that there is going to be a mass exodus, but if there are other viable opportunities for enough players, that means an overall further diminuation of the talent pool here.

And please - can we stop with the comparisons to the NHL? Hockey was broken before their lookout. A snoozefest. Basketball just had it's best season in over a decade, and there only looks to be a concern over milking more money out of a product, rather than making it even better.

I think it's this TBH.... players seem to LOVE the Toronto nightlife and it's not much colder than a dozen other northern US cities.

If we could ever build a winner here I think that it'd be a pretty attractive destination. Never on the level of a NY or MIA or LA... but def. in that 2nd tier.

You think NBA player, who don't even wanna play in Toronto because it's way too foreign, are gonna pack it up and go play in Europe? Hell no.

I don't know it's just a myth about Americans do not want to play in Toronto, but if it's true, it's understandable. If you are American, you probably prefer to represent American team, not Canadian. And when you are in the NBA, as a fact, right, you want to play on American team. Its self explanatory, and after all, there is a possibility, 29 possibilities. Why players should want to play in Toronto, white there are 29 American teams?
In the other hand, if American decides to leave the NBA, well he understands hes leaving United States, there is just no other choice. So, no hard feelings... It's not like actully playing in the NbA, but not in the states aver all...

The NHL thing is a valid comparison because we are focusing on human behaviour, not the similarities between the 2 leagues. When you look at the guys who went over, it was not players in their prime. Twilighters, malcontents, miscreants and guys who were not getting enough ice time went.

Kleiza obviously loves Lithuania, Jose loves Spain, Parker loves France, but if you are dominating over there and continue to play there instead of trying to step up your game and your profile over here, honestly, as an athlete......there's something wrong with you. It should not even be a question of whether to come here, but how soon.

Hate to say it, but if you stay there and you are just killing your league, there is a good chance some might be soft, a momma's boy, or you know in your heart that you can't hang.

So I say let the 9th and 11th guys off the bench dip their toe in over there for playing time. If they start dominating over there, they'll be back. (yes, I am calling it the NBDL east)